We work on projects ranging from the conservation of textiles to transcribing documents, helping in museums, recording gardens and churches and refurbishing books in libraries. Our groups always welcome new members.
Skills and techniques can be learned on the job and there are special training days available so please do not feel you are not competent to become a volunteer.
The Garden History Group
Our Garden Group within the Arts Society currently numbers around 20 members. Anyone with a love of gardens, parks and managed landscapes is warmly invited to join us.
The group forms part of the Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust which organises talks and garden visits to foster a love of the county’s historic landscapes and to promote public awareness of our parks and gardens heritage, which it seeks to safeguard and conserve. We also encourage and support research. Our output is published in the CGT Newsletter and occasional books, which inform local planning applications and are a resource for journalists, authors and the public. Our Garden History Group supports, trains and encourages its members in researching aspects of Cambridgeshire’s historic open spaces in a friendly environment.
Do you know about about English Heritage Listings? EH has identified 33 gardens at Grade II or above in Cambridgeshire and has listed them to promote an awareness of their historical, botanical or environmental importance. Listed sites enjoy special protection from development. Pressure on open spaces from housing and infrastructure projects has never been greater. You might like to consider joining our Listings Team which is assisting EH by revisiting gardens to assess whether listings are still merited or accurate. Are there further gardens or managed landscapes which should now be included?
By joining the Garden Group, you can enjoy regular curated visits of both public and rarely opened private gardens (Fig. 1) and hear stimulating talks from eminent speakers (Fig. 2). We frequently organise courses on aspects of garden history (Fig. 3). And with our Small Grants Scheme we identify garden spaces which we can sponsor and encourage (Fig. 4).
Best of all you can simply enjoy all this in the company of your friends from AS. To learn more, please speak to Committee Members Jane Woods or Claire Sarkies, or the Garden Group co-ordinator, Judith Christie (email judith.christie@ntlworld.com). You will be assured of a warm welcome.
The Church Recorders Group
First introduced in 1973, Church Recording has since grown into a fascinating activity for thousands of volunteers. Its principal aim is to produce a comprehensive Record in the shape of an illustrated book for a church or other religious building.
Copies are sent to the County Record Office, Victoria and Albert Museum and some other institutions. This means the heritage within such buildings is promoted and recognised, helping to preserve and protect it.
The nature of Church Recording has seen many changes over the years, not least technological ones. Following a period of observational work and photography in the church, combined with research, today’s Records are produced and distributed entirely digitally with physical copies now only given to the church and local Record Office.
The Huntingdon Church Recording Group began in 2002 at the suggestion of the then Lady Hemingford. Since then the following churches have been recorded:
All Saints Church, Brington, completed 2007
All Saints Church, Huntingdon, completed 2010
All Saints Church, St. Ives, completed 2015
St Peter & St Paul Church, Fenstanton, completed 2019
St Andrews Church, Swavesey, completed 2023
St John the Baptist Church, Holywell was started in March 2023 and is now printed and bound. It was available for members to view at the November and December lectures..
St John the Baptist, Holywell
The Church Recording group would like to extend their sincere thanks to the Hunts Arts branch of TAS, who have generously agreed to sponsor the current Record.
We are a very small group of volunteers currently meeting on a Thursday morning a couple of times a month when we can. Anyone who would like to join us would be most welcome. Those interested, please contact the Church Recorders co-ordinator, Pat Hamilton, by e-mail at i.ham@btinternet.com.
As always, I extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all members of my CR group, past and present, for the considerable time, effort and commitment they give to our CR projects. Church recording is very much a team effort. My heartfelt thanks to them and our local TAS who support us.
We always welcome new volunteers. Please feel free to get in touch if you would like to know more.
Holly Isted, the Historic Buildings Support Officer for the Diocese of Ely, has posted an article on the Diocese website about church recording, and in particular, the Hunts Arts Church Recorders. Below is a link to the website where you can see the article, including photos from the Church Record Dedication of St Peter and St Paul, Fenstanton.
Pat Hamilton
Huntingdon Church Recorders Group Leader
The Arts Society, Huntingdonshire 